For many people, on numerous occasions, clutter has become unnervingly prevalent.

Clutter defines a mass of random items in stasis and usually branded as useless. It’s easy to recognise but complex in composition – this is partially due to the truism that clutter attracts more clutter.

When clutter goes unchallenged, it is largely dealt with in two different ways: unconsciously (in other words, filtered out of perception) or resignedly. In either scenario, negative effects include: stress caused by the disruption of fluidity and order, more dust particles, and diminished power from your central heating or air conditioning due to obstacles in air circulation.

Though clutter may seem like a trivial problem, property experts and cash house buyers We Buy Any Home stress that there can be serious financial risks associated with it too. Clutter, when allowed to pile up, can eventually lead to significant reductions in property value.

In extreme cases, excessive clutter can be symptomatic of compulsive hoarding syndrome. When encountered, compulsive hoarding clearance experts Clearance Solutions advise that a professional clearance company should be consulted.

To become a clutter conqueror and reduce its effects, read on.

Find the source

Clutter usually begins with unwanted items that aren’t immediately dealt with. Instead of being thrown away – be it a newsletter into the recycling bin – or stored properly – like a book put in a bookshelf – an item is placed somewhere as a temporary measure. This place then becomes a convenient beacon for where all varieties of other items can be stored.

Mail that hasn’t been requested is rarely valued or wanted, especially when it isn’t even addressed to a specific individual. Unsolicited mail can easily become the unwanted items that lead to clutter.

Address the Threat of Clutter Posed by Junk Mail

Junk Mail is one of the main offenders when it comes to potential clutter composts.

These methods work well in combination, but to make your unaddressed mail reduction tactics as potent as possible, you should also put up a “No junk mail” sign on your door.

Deal with Addressed Junk Mail

To reduce the amount of material that comes from junk mailers who actually specify an address and addressee, signing up with the Mailing Preference Service will prevent your name from being added to junk mail databases.

Another cause of addressed junk mail reaching your letterbox could be due to the Council.

Fortunately, through simply ticking an opt-out box on your annual electoral registration form, or by contacting your local elections office, you can prevent your details from being circulated to the kinds of company that will send you unsolicited mail.

Look Out for T(r)ick Boxes

We’ve all become familiar with the idea that when we encounter tick boxes, they’re there to offer us additional options, like receiving a monthly newsletter in the post.

In the interest of speediness, we’re more likely to leave these boxes unticked.

Unfortunately, some junk mailers have become wise to this practice. It is now more common to find that tick boxes are offering you an opt-out mail scheme but only if you tick the box.

So, next time you’re completing an online form requiring the input of your home address (like you would if you were buying something for delivery), you should make sure that you check all of the tick boxes or “t(r)ick boxes” as they have come to be known.

Landing Zones

“A place for everything and everything in its place.”

Every item should have a place to be stored and be returned there when not being used.

For example, a magazine rack can make an aesthetically pleasing showcasing alternative to a stack of papers. Such a practice will also prompt you to consider which ones you would like to keep when you run out of room.

If you happen to receive junk mail, that “place” is invariably the recycling bin and as quickly as possible too.